The Impact of Enterprises’ Shadow Banking Activities on Business Performance: A Test Based on Mediator Effect of Investment Scale and Investment Efficiency

ABSTRACT

In recent years, China’s financial sector has gradually been alienated from the real sector, allowing financial innovation and regulatory arbitrage add their own value to finance. High interest rates in the financial industry have led to changes in the real sector, revealing a trend toward “financialization” and “quasi-financialization”; a typical example of this includes nonfinancial enterprises’ shadow banking activities. In this article, we use annual data from 2004 to 2015 of A share listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, to examine the influence of nonfinancial enterprises’ shadow banking activities on business performance. The results show that, overall, enterprises’ shadow banking activity improve operating performance. In addition, from the perspective of earning structure, nonfinancial enterprises’ shadow banking business increases financial benefits, but has a significantly negative effect on operating income. Further tests show that enterprises engaged in shadow banking activities will impact operating income through the two intermediary variables of investment scale and investment efficiency. However, the negative effect of investment in crowding out operating income is greater than that of the efficiency-improving effect on operating income. This article provides policy guidance in terms of recognizing diverse aspects of shadow banking system that divorce the real economy from the financial economy.     

On-market share buybacks, exercisable share options and earnings management

Chan et al. (2006b ) suggest that managers might announce a share buyback to manipulate investors’ perceptions and capitalize on the positive price reaction usually associated with the announcement. The incentive to do so is greater when managers have exercisable options. Prior studies document that managers engage in upwards earnings management for opportunistic reasons related to option holdings (Bergstresser and Philippon, 2006). We examine the association between earnings management and exercisable option holdings for buyback firms to investigate if earnings management in the pre‐buyback period is greater for firms with equity incentives to increase share price. Our results, using 138 buybacks over the period 1996–2003, support our prediction. We find that buyback firms with both exercisable options that are in‐the‐money prior to the buyback announcement as well as options that are exercised in the buyback period have higher discretionary current accruals than buyback firms with no exercisable options, unexercised options or with out‐of‐the‐money options. Overall, our results are consistent with buyback firms with exercisable options using earnings management and buyback announcements to maximize option payoffs, and buyback firms without exercisable options signalling undervaluation.     

The Dynamic Extreme Co-Movement between Chinese Stock Market and Global Stock Markets

ABSTRACT

We use time-varying Symmetrized Joe-Clayton Copula model to study the extreme co-movement (boom or crash together) between the Chinese stock market and major stock markets in the world from 2007 to 2017, including developed markets and stock markets on “Belt and Road Initiative” (hereafter B.R.I.). We find that the extreme co-movement probability between Chinese market and “Belt and Road Initiative” markets is higher than developed markets at both tails. Then we study important “real” and “non-fundamental” factors affecting the excess co-movement probability, including bilateral trade openness, financial integration, and economic policy uncertainty. The results of panel regression analysis show that: the bilateral financial integration has significant effects over the lower tail dependence between Chinese and developed markets, but does not affect the extreme co-movement between Chinese and B.R.I. markets. And the bilateral trade openness is an important factor for the extreme co-movement at both tail between Chinese and global markets. The economic policy uncertainty index, especially China’s economic policy uncertainty, plays a key role in the extreme co-movement between Chinese and developed markets at both tails. However, it has sizable effects only at the upper tail co-movement between Chinese and B.R.I. markets.     

Selling-price estimates in revenue recognition and the usefulness of financial statements

Revenue is one of the largest and most value-relevant items in firms’ financial statements. Based on the “realizable” and the “earned” criteria of SFAC No. 5 (FASB in Concepts statement no. 5. Recognition and measurement in financial statements of business enterprises, 1984), revenues should reflect both selling price and timing of delivery. Of those two aspects, selling-price estimates are required for revenue recognition when standalone selling prices for products and services are not available. In this study, I examine the effects of selling-price estimates in revenue recognition on the contracting and informational roles of financial statements. Particularly, I examine the setting of SOP 97-2 (AICPA in Software revenue recognition. Statement of Position (SOP) 97-2, AICPA, New York, 1997) that removed software firms’ flexibility to recognize revenues using selling-price estimates. I find that SOP 97-2 implementation did not improve the contracting role of earnings. However its implementation partly shifted the informational role of financial statements from income-statement to balance-sheet components.     

Remarks on “Financial Services Integration: Right for some,Wrong for Others?”

Abstract

I have been asked to provide some introductory remarks on the structure of the financial services industry in the 21st century. Each of the panelists will give their own unique perspective on why consolidation is or is not a good idea for the firms where they work. I, on the other hand, would like to take a little time to provide an overview of what I see as competing “models” for the delivery of financial services. I will try to argue that these models are not necessarily mutually exclusive and that certain clientele may be attracted to one or the other. Thus, integration will indeed turn out to be right for some and wrong for others.     

Pension Funds and the U.K. Economy

Abstract

The paper considers the impact of U.K. defined benefit (DB) pension plan unding and investment on the U.K. economy. It suggests that many conventional theories are based on incomplete or inconsistent economics. In particular, the author suggests that:

? An economy cannot really gain competitive advantage from high returns on the domestic assets in which pension funds invest.

? DB liabilities are essentially similar for most schemes and can be closely matched with bonds.

? Funding pension liabilities has no primary impact on individuals’ consumption and saving or on firms’ capital investment.

? Pension funds are not natural investors in the equity of new ventures.

The conclusion of the paper is that the most significant impact of pension funds on the U.K. economy relates to the costs imposed by extreme mismatching between their financial assets and liabilities. The author argues that such risks can, in essence, “crowd out” entrepreneurial risk. He asserts that the U.K. economy would gain from greater focus on the matching of these assets and liabilities, and that the best way to stimulate enterprise is by eliminating the frictional costs in the economy arising from current practices.     

Minimizing the Probability of Ruin When Consumption is Ratcheted

Abstract

We assume that an agent’s rate of consumption is ratcheted; that is, it forms a nondecreasing process. We assume that the agent invests in a financial market with one riskless and one risky asset, with the latter’s price following geometric Brownian motion as in the Black-Scholes model. Given the rate of consumption, we act as financial advisers and find the optimal investment strategy for the agent who wishes to minimize his probability of ruin. To solve this minimization problem, we use techniques from stochastic optimal control.     

How do medical managers strategize? A strategy-as-practice perspective

ABSTRACT

Strategic planning (SP) is a widely-used practice within public sector organizations. However, SP does not only take place in strategy workshops and senior management levels. This paper explores how medical managers of English hospitals ‘do’ SP in their clinical directorates. The authors investigate the practices, the usage of strategy tools and the implications of medical managers’ strategizing. The paper argues that what makes financial sense to medical managers strategizing in the local circumstances of their directorates does not always equate to value for patients, the hospital or for the public sector as a whole.     

Financial Deepening,Asset Price Inflation,and Economic Convergence: Empirical Analysis Based on China’s Experience

Abstract

In this study, we test for convergence in financial development and economic growth in China’s financial deepening reform process by using system GMM method. The results show strong evidence of the mutually interactive and systematic relationship between financial development and economic growth, and the system is in a condition of long-run divergence. The main cause of divergence in the system changed after 2008 from financial depression to asset price expansion. This study provides evidence that the government should intensify financial deepening reforms and pay attention to financial resource flows to prevent excessive asset price expansion.     

The Role and Current Status of IFRS in the Completion of National Accounting Rules – Evidence from Sweden

Abstract

In this paper, the influence of IFRS on Swedish national accounting rules is analyzed. The lawmaker’s and standard setters’ response to EU Accounting Directive 2013/34/EU is studied, as well as the use of IFRS in enforcement. The conclusion is that IFRS have a strong position and legitimacy in Swedish financial reporting.     

The Role and Current Status of IFRS in the Completion of National Accounting Rules – Evidence on Cyprus

Abstract

The case of Cyprus with respect to the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is unique given the country’s strong reliance on international business and accounting-related services. As such, Cyprus has required the use of IFRS since 1981 not only for publicly listed firms but also for private companies regardless of their size. Cyprus’ reluctance to fully transpose Directive 2013/34/EU into national law cannot be unrelated to its long-standing requirement of financial statements that are not only prepared under IFRS but are also audited for all types of corporations registered in the Republic. We conclude that transposing the new Accounting Directive in its entirety into national law could have adverse effects on the Government tax revenue, the GDP of the services sector and the credibility of Cyprus as an international business and financial services center.     

The Evolution of the Belt and Road Trade Network and Its Determinant Factors

ABSTRACT

This study reveals the evolution of the Belt and Road trade network, and discusses the determinant factors of trade relationships by employing network analysis methods. Using 65 countries’ trade flow data in 2012, 2014, and 2016, the network indices show that the Belt and Road initiative has improved trade network’s connectivity significantly. The results of blockmodels show that the trade network can be partitioned into four blocks, including “Dominators,” “Brokers,” “Generators,” and “Receivers.” Furthermore, the spatial proximity, cultural differences, trade agreements, economic distance, and trade facilitations have significant impacts on the formation of trade network according to the QAP model.     

Financial and Demographic Risks of a Portfolio of Life Insurance Policies with Stochastic Interest Rates

Abstract

We refer to a recent paper by G. Parker (1997) in which the risk of a portfolio of life insurance policies (namely the risk related to the entire contractual life) is studied by separating the demographic component from the financial component. In our paper, after making a brief summary of Parker’s model, we propose two additional contributions: 1. We first give the problem a different formalization, thus allowing a portfolio risk analysis by management periods and a study of the risk due to the interactions among years;

2. We elaborate on a powerful and flexible algorithm for calculating the probability distribution of the sum of random variables that proves useful to solve not only the problems discussed in this paper concerning the risk analysis but also various other problems.

In the paper, we also show, for both contributions, some applications made under the same financial and demographic assumptions taken by Parker; we also compare our results with Parker’s results.     

Government and Financial Institutional Determinants of Development in MENA Countries

ABSTRACT

This article aims to examine the causal impact of the Arab Spring (AS) and government institutions on the finance–growth nexus. The empirical analysis is implemented for extensive firm-level panel data combined with national data covering macroeconomic and institutional factors for the period 2005–2014, starting 6 years before and continuing after the AS. Using Difference-in-Difference method, we analyze the effect of the AS. Evidence points to financial development as a strong positive contributor to growth. The analysis also indicates that the AS dampens growth. These results seem to suggest that political instability adversely affects growth; nevertheless, a well-functioning financial system is a necessary but not a sufficient condition to enhance growth. Therefore, policies aiming at improving the efficiency and the operation of institutions such as a country’s legal system, citizen’s participation in selecting government, freedom of expression, and the stage of financial development should persist over an extended period of time, in order to bear fruition and achieve a significant success in boosting economic growth and reducing poverty.     

Hierarchical Determinants of Brazilian Stock Returns During the 2008 Financial Crisis

Abstract:

We analyze the influence of firm- and industry-level determinants on stock returns during the 2008 financial crisis, using a hierarchical linear model to analyze the returns of 135 Brazilian firms. The impact of these determinants on stock returns has not received sufficient attention in periods of severe market decline. The following determinants were significant: (1) industry-level determinants (unlevered beta, historical sales growth, and regulated tariff), and (2) firm-level determinants (size, illiquidity, and book-to-market ratio). We also identified an indirect influence of unlevered beta over book-to-market that reflects a behavior that we call the “misconfidence effect.”     

Murphy’s Laws: A Key Explanatory Tool for Public Sector Disputes in the UK

This article reports on the use that the public makes of the budgetary and financial reporting produced by Spanish local authorities. The authors show financial reporting influences voting behaviour. Although citizens cannot decide how much tax they have to pay or the volume or quality of the services, they can control public management when it comes to election time. Accounting information can reflect the results of public policies and consequently serve as a vehicle for communicating the economic effects of political management. The authors make a strong case for more ‘popular’ financial reporting so that government accounts can be understood and properly used by non-specialists.     

Stochastic Models for Continuing Care Retirement Communities

Abstract

Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) offer housing and a variety of services, including long-term care. Typically, the cost of this long-term care is wholly or partially covered by entry and/or periodic fees. Thus, CCRCs provide a long-term-care insurance benefit. For this and other reasons, actuarial involvement in the financial management of CCRCs is desirable. To carry out actuarial analyses of CCRCs, appropriate models are required to describe the status of individual residents and the CCRC population.

This paper presents models that assume that, at any time, a resident is in a given “state,” which is determined by the individual’s care requirements. The resident may make “transitions” between states at various times, and randomness is associated with both the transition times and the states entered. Actuarial calculations using such a model are discussed, and numerical illustrations are provided. A simple model is examined first; then generalizations are considered. The model for an individual resident can be embedded in a model for a CCRC population. This is explored with particular attention given to the “high-demand” situation in which potential residents are always waiting to enter the community. With this model, the goal is to analyze the future care requirements of the CCRC population.     

Financial Development and Total Factor Productivity Growth: Evidence from China

Abstract

In this article, we estimate the effect of China’s regional financial development on total factor productivity (TFP) growth using large provincial panel data for the years 1990 to 2009. Using the nonparametric stochastic frontier data envelopment approach, we analyze how financial development is related to efficiency improvement and technological progress, the two components of TFP. The study shows that Chinese financial development plays a significant role in promoting TFP growth via technological progress rather than efficiency change. The faster the financial development takes place, the better it could correct the mismatch of resource allocation, thus promoting TFP growth. The results imply that China needs to both further optimize the allocation of financial resources and perfect the regional financial system.     

Do Loan Loss Provisions Affect the Credit Fluctuations in China’s Banking System?

ABSTRACT

The global financial crisis of 2008 sparked new ideas on pro-cyclical transmission in the financial system. The accounting treatment method of loan loss provisions differs between the accounting standards that banks use and the supervisory rules of banks. This fundamental difference has attracted wide attention from academics and regulators. This article studies whether bank loan loss provisions affect credit fluctuation in China’s banking system. We divide loan loss provisions into discretionary and non-discretionary loan loss provisions. We find that non-discretionary loan loss provisions result in greater credit fluctuation, whereas discretionary loan loss provisions have no significant impact on credit fluctuation. Further evidence shows that the relation between non-discretionary loan loss provisions and credit fluctuations does not vary among different types of banks. Overall, our study shows that non-discretionary loan loss provisions can increase credit fluctuation and therefore strengthen banks’ pro-cyclical behavior.     

New development: Budgetary accounting in Colombia—arguments for a much-needed reform

ABSTRACT

Public financial management reforms are needed in Colombia to integrate the accrual-based accounting system with budgets. This would remove the need to make accounting variations through deficit measurement and would supply better information about the impact of public policies on the country’s financial situation. This article briefly explains why Colombia needs to integrate its accounting and budgeting systems.